For those not in the know, I have had tons of trouble with AT&T since the day I signed up for their bundled services. This morning I spent an hour and a half talking to two customer service reps, and received no satisfaction. But let me start at the beginning . . .

Yesterday I got a bill in the mail from AT&T for $194.00. This was a problem because my services were priced at $108.00 for one year. So because I didn’t want to wait on hold for twenty to thirty minutes, which is their standard wait time, I called promptly at 8am today. The first rep, Marigil, told me she could only lower my bill to $155.00. When I told her that price was not per our agreement, she said it was all she could do, in her halting English. At that point I asked to speak to her supervisor. A man named Rod was next on the line, and he claimed he could help me, but after another 45 minutes with him, I was told he could not access my information. He needed to call me back after conferring with his boss. So that is where I stand as of right now.

The customer service reps for AT&T are all based in either Pakistan or India. The names I have been given include Jalanna, Krisna, Marisol, Marigil, Mary, Jana and Mariffa. And those are just the women. The men have a tendency to change their names, Americanize them, if you will. In one day I talked to two Neals, a Chad, and a Brian. All had thick accents. Today I talked to Rod, ID# RA7000. ALWAYS get their ID numbers, plus any order numbers, to cover your ass. If you don’t have that info they will feign ignorance (or they really are ignorant.) Write down every bit of information you can wring from their small brains. Document it, and then throw it back at them as needed.

This is one of the major problems with our economy. Good paying American jobs have been shipped overseas, leaving American workers unemployed, while these companies reap the reward of being able to continue to do business as usual, and in many cases actually get tax subsidies to supplement their bottom line . What a great country. And the idiot Tea Party, or Tea Heads as I call them, want to LOWER taxes on these international companies. Go figure.

But back to AT&T. It has now been two hours since I last spoke to Rod, who promised to call me back in exactly that space of time. Surprise, surprise, no call. Again, worst customer service ever. I deeply regret going with AT&T in the first place. If Comcast didn’t have an installation charge, and if they carried Boomerang, my kids favorite channel, I’d switch back today.

If you Google AT&T problems you will find numerous websites devoted to AT&T’s horrible services, so I know I’m not the only one out there suffering. But a class action suit, which would include everyone screwed by AT&T, was quashed by our pro-business Supreme Court, when they ruled that anyone who signed a contract with AT&T forfeited their right to participate in any class action against the company. It seems there is a clause buried deep in their contract that strips you of that right.

Rod just called me back, but claims he still can’t help me. And he was only twenty minutes late. If you are thinking of bundling with AT&T, don’t do it. I recently advised my mother not to go with AT&T, and instead told her just call Cablevision and tell them you’re thinking about changing service. They gave her a price cut.

Because Rod , who admitted he was based in Southeast Asia, couldn’t help me, I asked to be transferred to someone in America, and I was transferred to Denise in New Haven, Connecticut. Low and behold, Denise was able to help me She lowered my $194.00 bill to $106.00 and restored the promotions that had erroneously been removed, which led to all the trouble in the first place. Success!

The lesson here is to ask for an American to speak to, use any excuse, and avoid wasting time with the overseas help. It is hard enough understanding some of these people for whom English is a second language, there is no reason to lose two hours only to hear, “Sorry, I can’t help you.” Better yet, avoid AT&T like the plague.

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About breezespeaks

The Awful Truth is about Life, Sports, Politics, Religon, Food, News and anything else that tickles my fancy. My wife Kathy, and my kids, Will and Cait, will make periodic appearances as needed. So lets begin.

One Response to AT&T Still Sucks

Breeze, It’s amazing isn’t it. I don’t want to start thinking about this bullshit because I ‘ll get all pissed and want to hit something. Needless to say I feel your pain bud, if you figure out something nice to do to relieve some stress let me know. Hey is there a tea party rally around? Good luck buddy.